Chicken Piccata Pasta

I swiped this recipe card from my sister (thanks Janeal!  You can have it back now.) because this pregnancy has made me seriously crave lemon and it looked delicious.  Its a Pampered Chef recipe, but (sorry PC) I'm going to take out all of the pampered chef specific words they bold like cutting the chicken on the 'cutting board.'  Seriously?  Because I was going to cut it up on my counter.  Lol.

It was simply delish, even though the chicken turned to 'blackened chicken' (when I got distracted on the phone - it didn't have a burned taste though... it was still good) and I didn't have artichoke hearts or fresh parsley and I don't like capers.  Oh, and I just (now) realized, I HAD Parmesan cheese, but I forgot to put it on.  Nice.  Oh well, I'm definitely going to be making it again, so I'll try again next time.  Enjoy!

"Creamy and lemony, this dish is a fresh take on piccata and is made in a fraction of the time!"  (I don't actually know what piccata is, but I don't care because this dish was awesome.)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 T olive oil, divided (I use coconut oil and its yummy and smells like a pina colada!)

1 1/2 T Lemon Pepper Rub (I use a Wild Tree one that was awesome)

3 cans 33% reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/2 medium onion

12 oz uncooked angel hair pasta (my favorite kind of pasta)

1 lemon

2 oz cream cheese, softened

1 can (14 oz) quartered artichoke hearts in water, drained

1/4 C capers, drained and rinsed

Chopped fresh parsley and grated fresh Parmesan cheese (optional)

Process:

1) Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces.  Combine chicken, half the oil and all of the rub in a bowl and toss to coat.  Heat remaining oil a large skillet over med-high heat 1-3 min. or until simmering.  Add chicken to skillet; cook and stir 10 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and centers are no longer pink (duh.)  Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

2) Meanwhile, pour broth into pan (they say to put it in the microwave but I just did it on the stove) and bring to boil.  Chop onion (unless you use frozen chopped onion like me... no more tears!) and add to skillet; cook 10-20 seconds or until onion is fragrant.  Carefully add broth and pasta to skillet; cook, uncovered, 7-8 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.

3) Zest lemon to measure 1 T.  Juice lemon to measure 2 T.  Add zest, juice and cream cheese to skillet; stir until cream cheese is fully incorporated.  Add chicken and artichokes to skillet.  Cook, covered, 1-2 min. or until heated through.  Remove skillet from heat; stir in capers.  Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Lemony and delicious!  (I think I used that word like five times in this post.)  Happy eating!